Specific Fucosyltransferases

Fucosyltransferase Catalyses the transfer of fucose from GDP L-fucose to specific oligosaccharides and glycoproteins SM... 

The plasma fucosyltransferase to Gal produces a-L-Fuc-( 1—>-2)-Gal linkages, and is the H-dependent, blood-group-specific enzyme. Its selective inhibition by thiol-blocking agents has permitted its discrimination245 from other fucosyltransferases. 

Differences in fucolipid content as between normal and transformed cells, and changes on ontogenesis, have already been discussed, and these effects are presumably due to variations in fucosyltransferase activities, with possible specificity differences, namely, a-(l— 2) to Gal or (1— 3 or 4) to GlcNAc. However, the enzymes involved in these cells have not yet been separated and purified, and information on the separate enzyme-activities involved is almost nonexistent. 

Kukowsaka-Fatallo, J. F., R. D. Farsen, R. P. Nair, and J. B. Fowe, A cloned human cDNA determines expression of a mouse stage-specific embryonic antigen and the Lewis blood group a(l,3/l,4)fucosyltransferase. Genes Dev. 4 1288-1303, 1990. 

Different glycolipid fucosyltransferase activities have been reported (32,55,58) to catalyze the addition of fucose to position C-2 of the terminal D-galactose and position C-3 of the internal N-acetylglucosamine of nLcOse4Cer to form blood group H or human tumor-specific lipid (10). Incorporation of fucose into GgOse4Cer was also reported recently by Taki et al. 

After preparation of this review, an abstract by Godde A, Kragl U, Biselli M, Katapodis A, Bowen BR, Ernst B, Wandrey C, was published on the XVIIIth International Carbohydrate Symposium, July 21-26, 1996, Milano, Italy (BP 135, p 390). It reports the large-scale production of 1800 units of a recombinant human al-3 fucosyltransferase (FucT VI, EC. 2.4.1.152) in its soluble form with a CHO cell line in a continuous fermentation process in a fluidized bed reactor (34mUmg 1 in culture supernatant). After partial purification the specific activity yielded 220 mU mg ... 

Table 2. Donorsubstrate specificity of Lewis a-(l 4)fucosyltransferase (Le-FucT)...

Table 4. Substrate specificity of deoxygenated acceptors for a-(l->3/4)fucosyltransferase fucosylation...

Murray BW, Takayama S, Schultz J, Wong C-H. Mechanism and specificity of human a-1, 3-fucosyltransferase V. Biochemistry 1996 35 11183. 

In the case of 0-fucose, there are two types of 0-fucosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.221), specific for either EGF or TSR domains, whose action is followed by, respectively, the 1,3-iV-acetylglu-cosaminyltransferase known as Fringe or a /31,3-glucosyltransferase [143]. In mammals, there are two polypeptide-modifying xylosyltransferases (EC 2.4.2.26) which are the first of a series of glycosyltransferases required for the synthesis of the chondroitin and heparan sulfates [144]. The first residue of 0-mannosyl glycans is transferred by a heterodimeric peptide-O-mannosyltransferase in mammals [145], whereas in yeast there are a number of... 

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